A standard recessed light fixture adapted to be installed in a hole in a ceiling panel having an exposed lower face and an opposite upper face has as disclosed in German patent document 3,329,794 of Demmin a frame bearing on the front face and engaged upward through the hole in the panel and a reflector mounted in the frame generally above the panel. A screw extending along an axis transverse to the panel is axially fixed in the frame above the panel, rotatable about the axis, and has an external screwthread. A plurality of retaining pawls above the panel can each move between an outer position projecting outward past the frame and an inner position and are each displaceable axially along the screw downward toward the panel and upward away from the panel.
Thus such a fixture is installed by moving the pawls into the inner position and then pushing the frame through a hole in the panel. The pawls are then moved into the outer positions and the screws rotated to bring the pawls down into snug engagement with the top back face of the ceiling panel (although it would be perfectly possible within the scope of this invention to mount such a fixture through a vertical wall panel). The frame is thus left solidly mounted on the panel so that the reflector, which normally is removed for installation, can be fitted into the frame and then a finish ring can be installed around the edge of the opening to complete the installation.
In German patent document 2,915,545 of Grimm a system is shown where the pawls are pivotal between the inner and outer positions and engage via a spring on the screw. Thus the pawls are pivoted into the outer position and the springs can be slid along the pawls to initially set them. Thereafter the screw is rotated to tighten them in place. With such an arrangement it is difficult for the user to ascertain if the pawls are fully in the outer position, especially as the actuating arm used to pivot them is fairly fragile so that if the pawl hits an obstruction this arm bends easily.